DESCRIPTION OF GREENLAND. 5^13 



country of Dittniarscn for the crown of Denmark, and per- 

 mission to establish an academy at Copenhagen. Chris- 

 tian II succeeded Christian I, and solemnly promised when 

 he was made king to do all in his power to recover Green- 

 land. But so far from regaining the land that his prede- 

 cessors hacJ lost, he was obliged to give up even the states 

 which he possessed. His cruelties caused him to be driven 

 Irom Sweden, M'hich queen Margaret had united to the two 

 crowns of Norway and Denmark, so that the three only made 

 one. He retired to Denmark under the influence of the same 

 furious spirit which had possessed him in Sweden, and the 

 Danes, who were no more able to endure him than the Swedes, 

 deprived him of the kingdom ; in consequence of which he is 

 represented among the kings of Denmark with a broken 

 sceptre in his hand. His chancellor, Eric Valkandor, a Danish 

 gentleman of great virtue and talent, was created, after the 

 disgrace of his master, archbishop of Drontheim. He retired 

 to his archbishopric, and then he gave his attention to the plan 

 of making another search for Greenland, and the means of 

 reaching that country. He read all the books which spoke of 

 it, C[uestioned all the merchants and sailors of NorAvay who 

 knew anything about it, and drew up a map of the route it 

 would be necessary to take. But in 1524, as he was about 

 to execute this design, a nobleman of Norway quarrelled 

 with him, and made him quit both the archbishopric and the 

 kingdom. He took refuge at Rome, and there died. Fre- 

 derick I, Christian's uncle, had now taken possession of the 

 kingdoms of Denmark and Norway ; and as the faction of 

 Christian was not yet extinguished, Frederick, who sus- 

 pected and feared Valkandor, banished him from Nor- 

 way, and dispersed the companies he had formed for the 

 discovery of Greenland. Christian III succeeded Frede- 

 rick I. He had the passage to Greenland tried, but those 

 whom he sent there were not able to discover it. This com- 

 pelled the king to repeal the laws which the kings, his pre- 



